Fort Myers Beach renourishment project begins

Preparations are underway for a restoration project at the Crescent Beach Family Park on Fort Myers Beach.

Monday, November 27th 2017, 7:28 PM EST by Ross DiMattei

Preparations are underway for a restoration project at the Crescent Beach Family Park on Fort Myers Beach.

Lee County will spend about $120,000 to undo some of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

Beachgoers who spoke with ABC7 agreed that sand restoration is a good idea, but many want to know why the county is stopping at the end of the 320-foot stretch of sand that makes up the park when the whole beach was hit hard by the hurricane.

"I think it's a good idea to invest back into the beach since there are a lot of people here and it's only Monday. I can only imagine the weekend what it's like and for people to be here and not have what they're used to," said Brittney Faulkner, a tourist enjoying her birthday in Southwest Florida.

Others are calling for officials to restore all of Fort Myers Beach beyond the stretch of sand that makes up Crescent Beach Family Park.

"To use the excuse that they have to refurbish it for this park, I think that's nonsensical," said Ed Simons, a resident of Fort Myers Beach. "I think they have to go down the beach with it and the whole beach is that way."

"This needs to be done, and it needs to be done all around the beach," said Susan Plassman of Fort Myers.

Lee County officials said they only own the park and the decision to restore the entire 7-mile coastline belongs to the town of Fort Myers Beach.

"This really is just a Band-Aid, and the bigger picture is something that can really only be addressed holistically, starting with the town leadership," said Steve Boutelle, operations manager for the Lee County Natural Resources Division.

The restoration project at Crescent Beach Family Park will start at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Construction crews will bring in 150 truckloads of fluffy, white sand from a mine in Immokalee. ABC7 reached out to the Fort Myers Beach town council to see if more sand could be coming to renourish the rest of the beach, but we have not heard back.